As you can see, I am more than a bit behind with my monthly reading summaries. August's reading was a bit unusual for me. I only read five books, partly because one of them was a nonfiction book, and I usually read them more slowly. I only read two mysteries, but the nonfiction book focused on mystery plots and narration in both novels and film, so it was related to mysteries.
Nonfiction
The Day the World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland (2002) by Jim Defede
When the terrorist attacks in the US occurred on September 11. 2001, US airspace was shut down indefinitely. Airplanes that needed to land there were diverted to other airports outside the US. Thirty eight commercial airplanes were instructed to land at the Gander International Airport in Newfoundland. This book describes the stories of the men, women, and families who were on the planes that had to land there and the logistics of getting the planes on the ground and finding places for all the passengers and flight crews to stay. Many of the people in Gander and surrounding towns donated their time to support the many people who were temporarily housed there. This book did a great job of covering that situation, at least from my perspective. The writing style was not perfect, and the organization of the various stories about the visitors and the townspeople was sometimes haphazard, but I was so interested in reading about it all that I did not really care.
Perplexing Plots (2023) by David Bordwell
The subtitle of this book is "Popular Storytelling and the Poetics of Murder." Bordwell was an influential film scholar; this book, the last one he published, focuses on crime fiction and films in the 1900s up to more recent times. He discusses the development of crime fiction plots and narratives and notes the same developments in plays and film of that time. See my review.
Fantasy / Time Travel
Before Your Memory Fades (2018) by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
This is the third in a series of five books about time travel that takes place in a café in Tokyo which has been serving a special coffee for more than one hundred years. When people sit at a particular table, drinking a cup of that coffee allows them to travel in time, but just for a short time. There are four connected stories in this book; each is novella length. The stories of the people who run the café are just as interesting as the time travel stories. In this book, some of the people who run the café in Tokyo visit a second time travel café in another city. You might think that the stories get to be repetitive, but I have found new approaches and ideas in each of the books I have read. The first book in the series is Before the Coffee Gets Cold.
Crime Fiction
The Killing of the Tinkers (2002) Ken Bruen
This is a very noir, but also relatively short, crime fiction book, the 2nd book in a series featuring Jack Taylor, a sort of private investigator in Galway, Ireland. Ken Bruen writes beautifully, and the main character is constantly talking about the books he is reading or the music he is listening to, but it is a really dark book. I have the third book in the series and I will read that one for sure, and if I had time, I would read all of them. I have also read the first three books in Bruen's Inspector Brant series, which I prefer.
Pesticide (2023) by Kim Hays
This book is the first in the Linder and Donatelli series. It is a police procedural set in Bern, Switzerland. Detective Giuliana Linder is an experienced homicide detective; she has worked with Investigator Renzo Donatelli before but this time they start out on different cases in very different locations. The author has dual Swiss/American citizenship, and has lived in Bern with her husband for 37 years. See my review.
Recently finished
At the Table of Wolves by Kay Kenyon is an alternate history with elements of espionage and fantasy; some characters have paranormal powers. It is set in 1936 in England and Germany; I thought the depiction of the time period was very well done and convincing.
Currently reading
Actually I will start reading this nonfiction book tonight. Eight Days in May is about the eight days following Hitler's death on April 30, 1945. The author, Volker Ullrich, is a German historian; the book was translated from German by Jefferson Chase.
And, more cat pictures...
London has now been with us three months. Per some pet behavior specialists, this is an important milestone in a new pet's adjustment. We are still adjusting to London and he to us. He is fun and so big compared to our previous cats. He is beginning to show more affection and easily accept it from us. All of the photos were taken by my husband. Click on the images for the best viewing quality.
